


Barriers

by CozyCryptidCorner



Category: Original Work, exophilia - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Human, Werewolf, all walk into a bar..., incubus, vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 09:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21176891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CozyCryptidCorner/pseuds/CozyCryptidCorner
Summary: There's a barrier that keeps the monsters in but doesn't keep the humans out. It's a design flaw, or maybe something intentional, but Sienna doesn't appreciate falling through the flickering shield and into beast territory with no way out.***If you are reading this on any third party apps (such as unofficialao3), or on any platform besides AO3, Tumblr, and Wattpad, then you are reading stolen work. I do not give consent for my stories to be published or pulled elsewhere.***





	Barriers

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Here is another commissioned piece from a user who wishes to remain anonymous and their beautiful range of human, werewolf, vampire, and incubus oc’s. Please enjoy this short, and be sure to thank the author for commissioning the piece.

#

Sienna isn’t stupid. Or maybe she is, she wouldn’t know. A normal person wouldn’t be out and about, balancing on the very edge of the barrier that keeps all the monster out of the real world and in their own little hellish pit, but here she is, arms outstretched, taking it one careful step at a time. Maybe if she didn’t have as much time to meander on home, she wouldn’t take the extraordinary risk of teetering at the very literal edge of human civilization. Unfortunately, though, she has the hubris of the gods that nestle in the caves beneath her feet, and so when a gust of wind blows by, she doesn’t feel a smidge of fear as it knocks her over.

Pain, yes, she feels that. It explodes at her side, the dull _smack_ of dirt and grit ramming against her arm faster than the rest of her body. Oh, yeah, that smarts, and she has to turn off all other senses just to focus on the air intake of her lungs. Her bones and muscles feel like they’ve been rattled around in a maraca, which is probably a good thing? She hopes? Sienna would assume that if anything broke, it would be so bad her nerves might just freeze entirely, so, hopefully, at worse, something is just sprained.

After a few moments to recollect herself, she manages to wobble to a stand, blood on her mouth, and she takes one moment to look up at the flickering barrier dome over the sky before she fully comprehends how absolutely fucked she really is. Like, seriously. As in right up the ass, because even though just about anything and everything can accidentally come knocking in through the barrier, there are, unfortunately, only four points that you can then _exit_ on out from here. And that’s just great.

Sienna’s lungs seize up again, though no longer from pain, but from terror, because now the realization of being trapped finally, fully sets in. Oh, god, the nearest exit is four miles away, how the fuck is she going to manage to get there? _Deep breath, deep breath, deep breath,_ she doubles over, staring at the dirt as she gets a hold of herself. Four miles isn’t even that long, really, this is going to be… not easy, but not nearly as difficult as being dropped in one of those dead zones, with gates to escape from for hundreds of miles. Four? One day. She just has to survive one day.

Immediately, she gets her bearings, turning around towards the direction she knows the gate is. Sienna can do this, most definitely, she just has to be quick about it, leaving no trace of her presence left behind. Running will exhaust her a little too quickly, and tiring herself out when she could at any moment be… chased…

Something rustles off where the forest sprouts out from the ground, in the moving ferns that Sienna is certain are only flickering because of the wind. She bites her lip down hard enough for it to bleed again, picking up her pace, focusing her eyes straight ahead. Really, even if something is stalking her, Sienna really doesn’t want to give it the thrill of the chase, so she refuses to start running, even when every instinct inside of her is lighting up with fear. Calm, be calm, she tells herself, shoulders hunched as she hugs the very end of the dropoff where the barrier meets the ground.

Judging only by the quiet pattering of feet behind her, she’s being followed. Which is great, honestly, maybe she’ll be torn apart, she could definitely use the rearranging of her internal organs this time of year. Having everything in one place is kind of boring, after all. Might as well call for a bit of a change.

Since pretending the problem doesn’t exist isn’t quite making it go away as she hoped, Sienna decides that the next best course of action would be to face it head-on. She turns around, taking a step backward as if to continue her pace, and there, just within an arm’s reach of her body, a fucking vampire. Dark, grayish skin, terrifyingly flawless to the naked eye, and bright golden eyes that make her freeze like a fucking deer. She takes another step back, just to widen the gap between them, and runs into something tall and muscular.

Turning around, Sienna’s heart falters even further to find a- another vampire? No, not a vampire, it must be one of those were-things, she realizes, his blue eyes far too vibrant to be that of a walking corpse. Her entire body tenses up, and on instinct, she turns around to flee, except _oh, right,_ the fucking vampire is in the other direction, and now a new not-person? Sienna goes right into fight or flight, and honestly, right now, it’s looking like _fight_ is the only out.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” Sienna says, standing up a bit taller. “Can I help you?”

“I sure hope you can,” the werewolf says, baring his fangs in a broad grin, “I’m just _starving,_ no human has been stupid enough to fall through the barrier in the better half of a decade.”

Sienna tries to brush off the fact he calls her stupid, shrugging her shoulders and throwing up a quick facade of indifference. If nothing else, she’s not going to make her death fun for them. “Just passing on by, but the wind was a little too much, so I might have taken a nosedive in a downward direction. If you’d just let me pass, I’ll be right on my way.”

“I don’t think so,” the werewolf says, “since that isn’t nearly a good enough reason to let you go.”

“Well,” Sienna is already grasping at straws, “what would be a good enough reason for you?”

“Sending your mauled body back in a bag, certainly.”

“Huh.” She makes a shifty movement to the side in what she hopes only seems like a nervous jitter. “That doesn’t seem very fair, I only came here by accident, and I was just about to leave.”

The blond one straightens, giving her a glare. “Luca,” he says, almost in a warning.

The werewolf either doesn’t hear or care, mouth curled up into a snarling grin. “Well isn’t that a sha-”

Sienna kicks him right in the groin, and to a devastating effect, but she doesn’t stick around. She runs past the werewolf at full speed. Her legs fly like they never have before, and yet, _yet,_ she makes it only a single yard before she’s tackled down, the grass burning holes through her black jeans and burning her knees from friction. Tears threaten to sting her eyes as her body lifts off the ground, her jacket in the tight grip of the vampire.

“Hi.” She says, sniffing away the tears. “Can I help you?”

He tosses her back, at the feet of the werewolf, whose eyes look just a tad bit angrier and puffed than before.

“Sorry,” Sienna doesn’t think that apologizing will do anything, but might as well try. “I would just like to-”

He grabs her throat, and while she tries kicking again, but he already knows that trick, so he’s able to wrestle her body away from the hitting radius. The werewolf- Luca, she thinks, wants to bite her, she can see it in his eyes, and she doesn’t know what she’s going to do now because she won’t be able to fight him once he does, once he begins to slowly drain her life out of her body and oh god oh god oh god, tears, she’s crying. _I don’t want to die, please don’t kill me, help, help, someone help-_

“Oh, for god’s sake,” the vampire yanks her back, “look at her, Luca, she’s terrified. We’re letting this one go.”

Through her hiccups, she can’t even voice her agreement to the werewolf’s statement, but she offers up the nodding of her head. None of them bother to look at her, though, only finding each other’s agreement more important than hers. Which is probably par for the course, but here’s to hoping the werewolf can convince the other two that she’s not worth eating.

“How old are you?” The vampire asks the werewolf, “almost thirty. This kid can’t be older than you, and you think that terrorizing her is going to satisfy your sick fantasy of destroying mankind?”

Oh, Sienna hates all of this, but she doesn’t voice her concerns. The vampire and werewolf go back and forth, counterpointing each other with something among the lines of _what if we ate the human,_ to _I hear you there, but like what if we didn’t,_ all the while the other one… the blond one stays silent. Well, now that Sienna has a minute to look him over, his soft-looking hair actually looks like it has some pink in it, like an under dye, and also seems kind of familiar? Like she’s seen him before, but obviously, she hasn’t, because he’s probably been locked up here for longer than she’s been alive. Still. Those eerie rosewood eyes are like something out of a freakishly nightmarish fever dream.

“Alright, then,” the vampire says, placing a firm hand on Sienna’s shoulder, almost holding her in place, “it’s decided. We’re taking her back to the gate. Ace, can you make sure no one else is in the area?”

The incubus glares over at Sienna, as though she were to one to demand such a thing from him, but he complies, rolling his eyes up to concentrate on; however, he is doing it. “Nothing here.”

“Good, great. Let’s go.”

Sienna walks, moving her legs, sticking as close as possible to the vampire because, at the moment, he seems to be the least likely to kill her horribly. Especially the way the werewolf looks her over like he’s deciding just where on her body he’s going to bite first. The trail that hugs along the barrier seems to stretch out to infinity, feeling much longer than when she was walking through it alone, but she sticks her chin out and tries not to show her nervousness. Not that it would matter, probably because the vampire and werewolf can smell her actual fear, and that incubus is possibly shifting through her brain right at the moment.

“I am,” the incubus says.

“Awesome,” Sienna says, putting as much venom into the word as she could without outright being mean. Just because she likes being sarcastic doesn’t mean she also wants her head to get ripped off.

“I’m sure you don’t.”

_Stop it,_ Sienna thinks back, trying to make her thoughts screech out like radio interference, but whether it works, the incubus doesn’t show. Her mouth thins out as she shoves her hands into her pockets, her brain a flurry of movement as she tries to figure out just how she’s going to get out of this mess should things begin to get out of hand like it did before.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

Ick, the incubus again, still digging through her mind. “You guys haven’t given me a reason not to be concerned.”

“Devyn won’t let anything happen,” the incubus nods towards the vampire. “He’s already decided that you’re worth saving, so you’re saved.”

“Ace,” the vampire says in warning.

“She’s so worried,” the incubus says, annoyed, “it’s loud and overshadowing everything else.”

The vampire sets his hand on her shoulder, saying, “you know nothing is going to happen with us here, right?”

When the vampire says it with such conviction, Sienna believes him. She doesn’t feel like his buddies’ intentions are all that pure because really, they’re just doing what he’s telling them to. Honestly Sienna probably wouldn’t trust any of them not to kill her if they got the chance, the vampire’s support be damned, so she’s careful about her placement while she walks with the group so that she’s no within grabbing distance.

“Question!” She says because she’s always been curious about the goings-on inside the barrier, so might as well ask now while she can or forever hold her peace. “Do most humans get munched on if they accidentally fall in through the barrier?”

“Yes,” the werewolf snaps.

“Huh,” Sienna taps her lip with her finger. “That must be why no one likes you guys.”

The werewolf makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “That- that’s not even close to-”

“It depends,” the vampire says, looking like he’s about to give the werewolf a quick, playful wack. “Sometimes people wander in looking for something, oftentimes something that is attached to one of us. Monster bits are coveted among all circles, so to take a vampire’s fang or a werewolf’s ear would buy someone a whole house.”

“Oh,” Sienna says, suddenly focused on the way that she walks. “So when I fell in, you probably thought I was here for, um, that.”

“Yes.”

“And that’s why y’all were so cranky.”

“Cranky,” the vampire laughs, “sure, that’s a good word for it.”

“That’s really awful,” Sienna says, cringing at how obvious it is. “Random humans just hop through the barrier near the gates to hunt? Aren’t the guards supposed to find contraband from anyone who comes through? That’s what they tell you.”

“What’s five thousand dollars for a bribe when you’re about to make a hundred and fifty thousand?”

“The guards are all bribed?” This might not be the first time she’s heard it suggested, but its definitely the only time it’s ever been officially confirmed by someone with an insider’s view on the goings-on. “That’s- that’s terrible.”

“A farm,” the werewolf hisses, “this place is a farm for human use. They let us breed and live until they need to cut down on the population, then they harvest what they need and sell the pieces of our brothers and sisters to the highest bidder.”

“Luca, we’ve spoken about this,” the vampire says in a tired tone, “none of that is proven to be true. It’s all most likely conspiracy theory bullshit.”

“Don’t talk to me like you wouldn’t put it past them,” the werewolf snaps, “and don’t even get me started on how this has been done before to anyone they find subhuman, even their own people have been furrowed away into camps and slums to be kept quiet and exploited.”

“He does make sense,” Sienna says, nodding in the werewolf’s direction. “Honestly, I would believe it.”

“See? Even the human girl thinks it’s true.” The werewolf glares over at her, though no longer with the same disgust as before. “It’s only a matter of time before they slip, Luca, then you’ll see.”

“Enough.” The vampire rolls his eyes, trying to show how ridiculous he thinks the whole situation is. “Only pleasant things will be spoken for the rest of the walk back, alright? We don’t need to discuss a criminal underground right now.”

The werewolf lets out an angry puff of breath, then stares straight ahead, making sure that he doesn’t look back to either Sienna or the vampire in a sort of silent treatment that only a petulant immortal can fully accomplish. Sienna doesn’t try pressing for any more information, she doesn’t want to get either the vampire or werewolf riled up into an altercation. But, thankfully, up ahead, there’s a decent looking structure that parts the barrier like a zipper, a triangular building of steel and cement. That’s the barrier gate, she realizes, even though they’re still a good mile out, so she can’t make out much more details than that.

The armed guards start, holding guns with enough energy output to put down an elephant- or werewolf, easily. Every single one they pass, straight spine, glasses covering part of their stern expression, tighten their grips on their weapons, turning their heads as Sienna walks by. They’re questioning why she’s there, she can tell even without the incubus shuffling through their minds, but not a single one of them lifts a finger to help her approach the gate, much less ask if she’s okay. Not that she needs it, obviously, with her posse of immortal mean girls™ to fend off anyone else wanting to munch on her body, but if she did? Would the sweetly painted soldiers in their camo run to her aid? Or watch as she gets devoured by the monsters so they can justifiably shoot them afterward?

Sienna walks with her arms crossed, head held high. If she has to face the uncaring faces of those who don’t seem to have any concern over the state of things, she’s going to do it with some goddamn dignity. Maybe she could hold the vampire’s hand or something in protest to their shitty policies, but Sienna believes that might be a step too far. The gate lies just ahead now, military vehicles overlooking a line of people trying to make their way out.

“You have your identification papers, right?” The vampire asks, suddenly tense.

Just to double-check, she rummages around in her pocket, finding the passport among her house keys and phone. “Right here-”

“Don’t take it out yet, wait until we’re at customs. Anyone might try taking the papers for themselves, to forge, or to sell.”

“Right,” Sienna says, shoving it back down into her pocket, her fist closed around it as though someone might try to snatch it away via telekinesis. Which is a thing.

Despite the ridiculousness of the line, it moves fairly quickly, and Sienna is right in front of the customs office before she’s even ready. She turns around, throwing her arms around the vampire who saved her skin. “Thank you for helping me.”

“Thank you for listening,” he says, patting her back.

Much to her surprise, the incubus seems alright with shaking her hand, and even the werewolf gives her a non-hateful nod of goodbye. With a smile, she waves at the three of them, stepping back through the cold, sterile building.


End file.
